Ashton Carter and the double sequestration

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said in addition to $40 billion in cuts at the Pentagon that would come after a March 1 deadline, there's a lesser-known additional $6 billion reduction that would come at the end of March.

POLITICO Pro has the story (and like this site, that's paywall protected) but there's a killer quote excerpted in the site's defense-themed email blast that does a lot to show just how confusing the rules of sequestration can get:

"It takes a sort of Talmudic inquiry to figure it out ... but there are two sequesters," Carter told the website. And here's that link: http://politico.pro/11NUgHz

Here in Hampton Roads the prospect of defense cuts is causing a fair bit of anxiety and lost sleep, as big cuts could force the Navy to delay programs like construction of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy that the contracting community have come to count on.

As Hugh Lessig, the Daily Press' military reporter has pointed out on several occasions, the potential cuts aren't the only thing putting defense contractors in a bind.

In an article last week, he writes: "The military is operating under a 2012 continuing resolution, not an updated 2013 budget. The longer the continuing resolution remains in effect, the tighter the money will be. In Virginia for the Navy alone, the consequences of not passing a budget would be $1.4 billion as the service is forced to defer projects, freeze hiring and make other moves."

See that article and stay tuned for more: http://articles.dailypress.com/2013-02-01/news/dp-nws-forbes-shipyard-20130201_1_shipyards-projection-forces-subcommittee-budget-fallout